Fort Collins moving toward 10-cent bag fees

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) - The Fort Collins City Council has given initial approval to a 10-cent fee on disposable shopping bags.

The city council approved the bag-fee proposal on Tuesday.

The ordinance would let grocers keep all revenue generated by the fee under the ordinance. They would be required to spend at least 50 percent of it to buy reusable bags to distribute to customers.

The proposal passed 5-2.

Similar rules in other cities have led to dramatic decreases in plastic bag use. Boulder has seen a 68 percent drop in disposable bag use since implementing a 10-cent fee in July 2013. And Breckenridge has seen a 40 to 50 percent reduction in disposable bags since 2012.